Equality and Diversity

Everyone, regardless of race, belief, sexual orientation or disability, should be treated equally in terms of their access to opportunities and their value to society. We serve a diverse community, and we encourage positive, friendly relations between people from different groups and backgrounds.

Our commitment to equality and diversity runs throughout our everyday policing in as well within the organisation in terms of meeting the needs of all our employees. Our activities and guidelines are reviewed regularly to make sure they take account of changing needs in the communities we serve. We also work with trade unions, staff associations and others to make sure our actions meet the needs of the whole community.

The issues of equality and diversity run through all parts of our police training. Officers have to know about the make-up of the population in their specific area so they can understand their distinctive concerns, and all of our staff attend regular training courses to update and refresh their awareness of the different needs of different groups. We also organise specific courses covering topics like deafness, mental health, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race and honour-based violence.